Is marijuana really that bad?

Kianier, I have read some of the information you posted in the past. Can you please provide the cite? I know you didn't do all that research (for example, where is page 9? "1997 UCLA study (see page 9) "), and the exact cite would be useful to people reading this.

Personally, I think it is ridiculous that marijuana is illegal and that we do not make use of hemp.

Along with legalizing marijuana, however, we need to put in place things like a 2 year max on all welfare-type benefits and outright ban any further expansion of government health care.

I don't care if people smoke up, but I don't want to pay for the consequences (when there are some).

Kianier,

I would like to see your citations too. I've spent the last 5 minutes researching everything you've said about addiction and I only find evidence (neutral facts) to support the opposite of what you have argued.

"A study based on a sample of 20,291 individuals drawn from the community at large found that more than half of those who met the medical criteria for diagnosis as drug abusers also suffered from one or more mental disorders at some point during their lifetime. This included 28% with anxiety disorders, 26% with mood disorders (depression), 18% with antisocial personality disorder, and 7% with schizophrenia. Some had multiple disorders. The prevalence of mental disorders varied with the drug being abused, ranging from 50% of marijuana abusers to 76% of those who abused cocaine. Almost half of the drug abusers also suffered from alcohol abuse at some point during their lifetime"

http://www.usda.gov/da/ocpm/Security.../Eap/Drugs.htm

"Some people feel nothing at all when they smoke marijuana. Others may feel relaxed or high. Sometimes marijuana makes users feel thirsty and very hungry—an effect called "the munchies."

Some users can get bad effects from marijuana. They may suffer sudden feelings of anxiety and have paranoid thoughts. This is more likely to happen when a more potent variety of marijuana is used."

http://www.nida.nih.gov/MarijBroch/teenpg5-6.html

" The short-term effects of marijuana include:
problems with memory and learning (11);

distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch) (6);
trouble with thinking and problemsolving (5);
loss of motor coordination; and
increased heart rate.

These effects are even greater when other drugs are mixed with the marijuana; and users do not always know what drugs are given to them."

http://www.nida.nih.gov/MarijBroch/teenpg7-8.html

"Long-term marijuana use can lead to addiction in some people. That is, they cannot control their urges to seek out and use marijuana, even though it negatively affects their family relationships, school performance, and recreational activities (9). According to one study, marijuana use by teenagers who have prior antisocial problems can quickly lead to addiction (3). In addition, some frequent, heavy marijuana users develop “tolerance” to its effects. This means they need larger and larger amounts of marijuana to get the same desired effects as they used to get from smaller amounts."

http://www.nida.nih.gov/MarijBroch/t....html#addicted

I will address the bad statistics that you posted after class! They are waaaay off.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Aristotle
Along with legalizing marijuana, however, we need to put in place things like a 2 year max on all welfare-type benefits and outright ban any further expansion of government health care.

I don't care if people smoke up, but I don't want to pay for the consequences (when there are some).

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I agree! I don't want to pay for the consequences whatever they are for marijuana, tobacco...whatever. And I think a 2 year max is generous, I don't see why anyone should get any type of benefit for claiming suffering/need because of things voluntarily brought upon themselves.

I just wanted to toss out there that Im not arguing about the "rightness" or "wrongness" or legality/illegality of the drug. The original question asked was "Is marijuana really that bad" and I think the answer is resoundingly yes.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Kianier
Frobozz, I have had lots and I mean this man, lots of experience with the drug and am in no way addicted to it. It sounds to me like you've been listening to the media a bit to much. Don't take everything you hear at face value.

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That's as rhetorical as someone saying "Kianier you're full of shit, you'll say anything to protect your addiction." or "Kianier you're just going to believe what your stoner friends say about it, rather than listening to the facts."

I think both are weak arguments, and I think people should focus on actual facts. The problem with comparing marijuana use to cocaine or alchohol is that there simply is not a large enough percentage of the population that consumes marijuana as consumes alchohol/cocain. I havent had the chance to pull the numbers off of STATA or SPLS (government stats), but I am really certain that the numbers you provided on fatalities is incorrect.

For the sake of not starting a new post, I quickly looked up Kianier's 'source' for those stats and it lead to this link:

http://dawninfo.samhsa.gov/pubs_94_0...ijuana_tdr.pdf

Note that it's a .pdf file, but you can disseminate the info on your own. I think it's quite clear that marijuana frequently is putting children in the emergency room. That sounds like a problem to me, for their health. AND it sounds like a problem to me as a tax payer.


http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/intel/99028/99028.html

I'm just explaining it because I know people who have died as a result of marajuana. :p I really do believe taking it is morally wrong also, I put it on par with drinking poison, because the user is putting poisons directly into his/her body.

(I don't know why people think it's not addictive either, my coworker needed some so badly he was twitching in a corner.)

Twitching in a corner? Are you sure that wasn't the DTs or he wasn't on crack? Those are not symptoms of marijuana usage. Even the critics of marijuana who've produced at least somewhat credible studies on the side-effects of marijuana would disagree with your diagnosis of your coworker.

Marijuana isn't a poison, and even if it was: tobacco cigarettes, and thousands of 'healthy' (or not so healthy) foods contain carcinogens and other poisons. Alcohol is a poison, in fact you can poison yourself from drinking too much of it. It's called 'alcohol poisoning'.

Following your logic, Sier, we should then be offended by the morally corrupted individuals who smoke/chew tobacco, drink alcohol, or eat the foods sold in supermarkets (which are approved by the FDA, those corrupt government bastards who obviously lack moral sensibility...damn them for approving poisonous foods to feed to our children!)

Furthermore: automobiles, everyday electronic equipment we use in our homes and businesses, and factories produce harmful air/water/etc-bourne poisons and other harmful side-effects which can damage our bodies.

Good grief, we would have to ban all technology and industry so that our pure hearts can be put at ease. But at least we will no longer be wilfully poisoning ourselves by traveling via any other method than foot and mule train, using those brain tumor-causing cellphones (is that really true??) or (gasp) writing on a piece of (non-hempen) paper that came from a factory with toxic emissions and waste by-products?

Please.

Assuming for one moment that there -is- a possiblity your statement is correct, and marijuana is poisonous enough to be considered harmful to ingest, if a person wants to poison themselves, that's no reason for you to take offense. It's their body and (thankfully) people like you don't have jurisdiction over other peoples' bodies.

If it's some religious reason that's causing you to think it's wrong for a person to "poison" their body...I'm sure you've heard of separation of church and state. The religious beliefs of some groups and individuals cannot and should not be taken into consideration when making laws to govern all people, thus they have no relevance when determining whether or not marijuana should or should not be illegal in the U.S.

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Originally posted by Enosekel

Marijuana isn't a poison

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I think this is patently wrong. Marijuana is a poison just like alchohol, cocaine, or any other drug is. I didn't think people really believed that inhaling hot, burning, noxious, toxic chemicals wasn't some for of poison.

wow!

And as far as the twitching in the corner. Who knows. One of the largest complaints about marijuana, that I havent personally raised here, is that it is a form of gateway or companion drug that is used in combinations with others because the way the chemicals from the others combine with the marijuana and enter the blood stream faster through the blood. So it is possible that Sier's co-worker was going through massive withdrawl symps that were due to being cold turkey.

A possible counfounding variable in these studies which show a correlation between certain behaviors and marijuana use might be the nature of people who are likely to seek out and use an illegal drug. If you're looking for a drug in order to escape your day to day, you probably already have some sort of mental problem, anxiety, or whatever.

I've heard these arguements for and against sooooo many times!!
I do believe there was a time, for a very long time, that marijuana was not an issue.
Marijuana can, but not always, lead to other more dangerous drugs.
I think it'd be a mistake to not pursue it's health benefiting qualities.
Of course this plant will always be abused by some.
I don't think that will ever change, or can ever be controlled.